Connolly leaves Coley Porter Bell

Coley Porter Bell chief executive officer Amanda Connolly is leaving the consultancy after more than 12 years.

Connolly is pregnant with her second child. She had been planning to look for another job within CPB owner the WPP Group, following board level appointments earlier this year.

Cheryl Giovannoni, a former global board account director at ad agency Lowe Lintas, was hired to become managing director, while former executive planning director at Ogilvy & Mather Beth Barry became director of strategy and director of Visual.PlanningSM (DW 19 July). Barry joined in August and Giovannoni assumed the managing director’s role on 1 October.

Connolly will not be replaced as CEO, Giovannoni says.

Connolly says she intends to ‘carry on as normal till the end of this year’ and be involved ‘consulting and mentoring’ Giovannoni. In the New Year she will work part-time until going on maternity leave, the start date for which has yet to be confirmed.